A well known Apple analyst has predicted that the company will finally release a budget iMac next year, the move will definitely be a first for the company.

Apparently Apple is currently developing a low cost variant of the iMac. This particular variant will possibly bring a 10 to 20 percent year over year increase in iMac shipments around the world next year. The existing 21.5 inch iMac retails for $1,299; this price is quite high particularly in certain markets where the all-in-one desktop market share has been captured by the likes of Lenovo, HP and more.

One of the reasons Ming-Chi Kuo of KGI Securities believes is behind this budget iMac is the fact that at the current price, existing iMacs aren’t selling as per projections. Therefore Apple is working on a budget iMac which would drive down the costs and make it much more affordable for customers, particularly in those markets where HP, Lenovo and the likes lead right now. The low cost iMac might serve as the weapon Apple needs to wrestle market share back from those manufacturers. No technical specifications of this new all in one desktop are available at this point in time, nor is it known exactly when Apple will release it next year.

Just last month the company refreshed its existing iMac lineup. The models now come with Intel Haswell processors, GeFore 700 series graphics and 802.11ac Wi-Fi.